The Forest Horses [Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

I agree with Greg Hollingshed's statement on the back of the book cover: "This novel stands majestically between a fairy tale and the raw truth."
Byrna Barclay tells a story about the many layers of love through generations. She shows the pull of cultural roots back to Signe's place of birth, even though she and her family moved, survived and adapted to new country. She also shows the reader examples of burdens leaking from one generation to the next generation. The burden of poverty and sorrow but also of strength and as Kostja says "we must accept the tragedy as well as the joy."
After a terrible accident, Signe's son, Tapani hides in illness that even doctors don't understand. Barclay provides hope that one day he will find his way across the ice back to Signe. Or perhaps she will meet him halfway to discover joy in him again.
I believe that the character Kostja is the conduit for Signe's discovering her inner "Old Believer."
This is a book that will transport you to the past during the Siege of Leningrad, Russia as well as a glimpse of contemporary life in Russia and Saskatchewan, Canada.

The forest horses of the title are small horses ("no larger than thirteen hands at the withers") that have wandered the moors of the Swedish island of Gotland as long as people can remember. A herd of forty of these horses, kept by a Society for their preservation, is the means by which the Svetlov family, the subject of the novel, came into existence.

The background to the story is the harsh and repressive regime of Stalin in Russia, and the 900 day siege of Leningrad by the German army during World War II. During the siege, almost 1,500,000 Russians died, many from starvation and cold, as the city was cut off from supply of food and other necessities via overland routes from the rest of Russia. One of the few methods of resupply was across the ice of Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe, 125 miles long and 80 miles at its widest.

Pyotr and Maryushka Svetlov, Russian siblings, suffered a cruel upbringing as orphans in a state brick factory, and much difficulty in later life because their father (who disappeared into a Soviet prison never to reappear) was considered a traitor, having been an officer in the White army that had fought against the communists during the Russian revolution. Lena, a young Swede, arrived in Russia against her will, with the forest horses, which had been stolen by Pyotr. She eventually married Pyotr. Signe, the daughter of Pyotr and Lena, was born on the ice of Lake Ladoga during a trip with the forest horses hauling supplies to the besieged city.

At the end of the war the Svetlovs escaped Russia and settled in northern Saskatchewan. In 2004, long after Pyotr, Maryushka and Lena have died, Signe returned to Russia. She had lost one child in a terrible accident and her other child had been severely damaged by it, and was seeking not only her own roots, but also some meaning for her own life as well as those of the other members of her family.

I found this to be an exciting book. The story is epic in the scope of its historical background and provides a picture of civilian life under both a harshly repressive regime and the most extreme conditions of war. It is a fascinating study of life under the most stressful conditions imaginable, as well as the effects the trauma caused by those conditions on the later lives of those who endured it and their children even after a move to a country where they enjoyed freedom and peace. Signe's trip to Russia brings all this together. The book is well written and moves quickly. I liked in particular the skillful and imaginative way that the author developed the improbable relationship between Pyotr and Lena, which was at the heart of the tale. Overall, I thought the book to be a splendid feat of imagination.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See both customer reviews...

 

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Search Listmania!